Tuesday, November 07, 2006

SYDNEY, Autralia: Four Thai elephants will go on public display at Sydney's zoo for the first time Friday after an extended battle with animal rights activists who argued their captivity was cruel.

Protests and legal challenges by activists in both Thailand and Australia had delayed the transfer of the animals for more than 1 1/2 years. But despite protests in both Thailand and Australia, the four female elephants were flown into Sydney Airport on Thursday from Cocos Islands, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean where they were kept in quarantine for three months